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How to Get Vaccinated ASAP (When It’s Your Turn)
Your chance to get a Covid-19 vaccine may pop up quicker than you think, so make a plan now
Whether you’re in a priority group and actively hunting for Covid-19 vaccine appointments, or you’re way down the list and bracing yourself for a potential monthslong wait, it’s important to actively keep up with information about your vaccine eligibility and know how to score an appointment when it’s your time to get one. “People will have to be assertive about doing this, especially in these early days,” says Tara Kirk-Sell, PhD, MA, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.
Right now, there’s no clear indication that you’ll, say, be notified through your health care provider portal that you can come in to get the vaccine (though some providers are notifying patients), says Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health in Piscataway, New Jersey. Adding to the confusion, who’s next in line and when varies from state to state.
That’s why making a plan ahead of time, rather than just waiting for your name to somehow magically be called, is a smart move. Here’s where to start:
Follow the right accounts on Twitter: Social media is the Wild West when it comes to vaccine news, and it’s not always a great source for important health information. But while you shouldn’t get vaccine info from your random second cousin on Facebook, you can follow your state health department’s official social media accounts to stay up to date on vaccine availability news.
Look at your state’s vaccination plan: Google your state + vaccination plan and you’ll probably land on a website that has way too much information to digest right now. But what it should offer you is a detailed list of who is eligible in the current vaccine distribution phase and what those terms mean. And that’s important because this will tell you exactly who is in what group. For example, if your state is currently…
